Acacians
Acacians, in their language the Chosen People, are a race of bipedal primates who share the same ancestors as Human Beings. They were taken from earth before the activation of the Halo array, and were given a mysterious but innate understanding of Forerunner technology. They are a calm people who enjoy having peace and privacy but will go to war when necessary to defend their way of life. Despite their calm personality, they require two years of military service, as away of ensuring protection of their kind. They are more intelligent and taller than human beings and have smaller (yet denser) muscles but retain the same, or, most often, elevated, amount of physical strength. =History= During the centuries long Forerunner-Flood War, the Librarian, and his understudy, the Keymaster, began collecting and documenting species of the galaxy, one of them, the ancient humans. Not quite sentient enough to be affected by the Halo Array, they were taken well out of range of any remaining threat of the flood. In the final moments a ship containing the ancient humans crash landed on the planet called Acacia, the forerunners quickly used a machine and installed a knowledge into the minds of the Acacians. The Keymaster had been able to give the Acacians the knowledge they would need to use the technology they would eventually find. Early Beginnings Roughly 50,000 Acacians landed on the planet of Acacia, and they soon fanned out across the land, leaving the ruins of the ship behind them to be engulfed in the endless sands of the desert. The Acacians soon began an agricultural society, farming the fertile valleys and plains of Acacia. With this change in society, the population exploded and grew to 200,000 in about 100 years. As their lifestyle solidified, they soon began mastering architectural feats 1000's of years before the humans on earth, like pyramids, and giant stone temples dedicated to the long lost Forerunners. The Dark War About 500 BCE a single Acacian explorer stumbled upon the massive ruins of the ship that crashed so many years ago. He immediately reported his findings and soon began a large scale excavation of the ruins. During this massive excavation they discovered a small Forerunner city about 30 miles away from the crash sight, finding massive caches of outdated weaponry (in forerunner terms) a huge war broke out over the politics of dealing with this new weaponry and how it should be used. One faction, (Reds, for their colors) wanted to use the technology to improve daily life and use it practically. The other,(Traditionalists) thought the use of the technology was sacrilege and an affront to their gods, the forerunners. The war lasted 250 years, and hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, decimating the population of the Acacian people. However, eventually, the war ended with the Reds exterminating the Traditionalists. =Description= Acacians are very similar to humans. However they have some differences: *Prominent Browline *More taller on Average *Pointed ears *Smaller but more dense muscle mass Acacians are tall and muscular, but still lean. They have lightly tanned skin, but like humans they come in many different shades. When males enroll in the military go through a very old and highly revered process. Males get their head shaved bald and get tattoos applied to their body. Every man's design is different and is based on their accomplishments and personality. Most males start out just with arm tattoos but more get added across the body as they advance their careers. Personality Acacians have a confident personality, this is not to be confused with cockiness. Acacians are very aware of their abilities and their limitations. It is rare for an Acacian to go beyond his limits (physical or emotional), but when they do they rarely return to normalcy. Acacians are wary of outsiders, and it takes a while for them to get used to them. However when they do get familiar with an outsider they develop a close bond. Acacians are a very trusting people, they place honesty and loyalty above all else. It is rare in any circumstance that an Acacian breaks a promise or lies. Nothing supersedes the Acacians loyalty to any one thing, they will uphold an oath or promise for as long as it permits. This trait allows Acacians to be infallible allies, as they will always be their for backup. Family Life An Acacian is free to chose his/her spouse. Consent is required from both parties if a marriage is planned. Divorces are so few that such a thing is unheard of and is considered taboo in their society. Families are very close-knit and parents share dominance in family matters. Children are expected to fully comply with their parents wishes, however this ends when the child reaches adult hood at age 17. At this age children enroll in the military and are sent either to Navy training or Army training. Either is considered an honor and parents are proud of their children's accomplishments. Keeps Keeps are family estates in certain areas. They are similar to Sangheili states. Each Family controls a large plot of land on the planet Grathos. Extraplanetary keeps are rare and scripts of ownership are only given out to the most prominent of Acacians. Delegates from certain Keeps are given membership to the Peoples Council. Culture To an outsider the Acacians culture might seem odd and full of useless ceremonies. While most of the ceremonies conducted are out of date, and serve no purpose in their advanced culture, they are still kept in mainstream society because the Acacians take pride in their culture. One such ceremony is the Warrior Scribe ceremony. A male Acacians head is shaven bald and tattoos are applied to his chest. Every Acacians tattoos are different and based on several factors: Their personality, their parentage/heritage, and their branch of service. Navy tattoos are more swirling, while army tattoos have sharper edges. More Tattoos are added as the Acacian male continues service and furthers his list of accomplishments. The more tattoos an Acacian has the more he has done in life. Tattoos on a face are of extreme rarity, they are only applied to the most honorable Acacians. The following are feats worthy of tattoos: *Marriage *Joining the Military *Retiring from the Military *Advancing in rank (each advancement earns a unique tattoo) *Killing first enemy *Age (at ages 17,34,52,90) *Politcal advancement Naming Every Acacian name is unique. Males first names have both prefixes and suffixes. Females only have a suffix. Prefixes and suffixes are added to the middle name called a median. Names are used like adjectives, so names can change quite a bit throughout an Acacians lifespan. The only part of the name that remains constant is the median and last name. An example of a male name: Kai'Ghar'Terr Feh'Law, meaning Strong Ghar the Soldier, of Law. An example of a female name is: Kra'Til Feh'Rom, meaning Kra the Beautiful of Rom. Full names like, Kai'Ghar'Terr Feh'Law, are only used in the most formal occasions. Usually Acacians are just called by their median name. IE: Ghar, Kra, etc. Common Male prefixes Describes the Acacian Personality *Kai-Strong *Shro-Brave *Verh-Honest *Lio-Intelligent *Poh-Cunning Medians Median names are all different, contrary to suffixes and prefixes. Common Male Suffixes Suffixes describe the Acacians job. *Terr-Soldier *Lok-Sailor *Prer-Factory worker *Fal-Councilor (Peoples Council) *Kfal- Councilor (Supreme Council) *Tfal- High King Female Suffixes Suffixes describe their personality. *Til-Beautiful *Shjal-Intelligent *Verha-Honest *Kul-Cunning *Tril-Brave Last Names All last names start with Feh, which means from, and they're followed by the place where their family is rooted =Military=